Material handling vehicles such as forklift trucks are used to pick up and deliver loads between stations. A forklift truck typically has a mast, which supports a load lifting carriage that can be raised along the mast. The carriage normally carries a pair of forks that are maneuverable beneath the load prior to lifting the load.
For a variety of well-known reasons, it is desirable to be able to displace the forks laterally with respect to the carriage. For example, as the truck approaches a load, the forks may not be properly aligned with the load to be maneuvered under it. Rather than moving the entire truck, it may be preferable to laterally reposition the forks along the carriage.
A typical side shifter uses hydraulics for laterally displacing the forks with respect to the center line of the vehicle. The vehicle normally includes a truck carriage bar, which is fixed on the mast against lateral displacement, and the side shifter typically includes a shifter carriage, which is moveable laterally with respect to the truck carriage. The forks are mounted on the shifter carriage, and a hydraulic actuator connecting the truck carriage bar to the shifter carriage provides the shifting action.